Golf club face

ABSTRACT

The face of a golf club is provided with a plurality of parallel steps rising from the lower edge of the club face to the upper edge of the club face to provide a plurality of edges designed to impart back spin to a golf ball. Each of the parallel steps are parallel to an imaginary plane which is an extension of the lowermost step on the club face and which determines the pitch of the club.

United States Patent [191 Thompson 1 [4 1 Mar. 4, 1975 GOLF CLUB FACE [76] Inventor: Woodrow F. Thompson, Highway 80, West Forest, Miss. 39208 [22] Filed: Nov. 21,1973

[21] Appl. No.: 417,836

[52] 11.8. CI. 273/175, 273/167- J [51] Int. Cl A63b 53/04 [58] Field of Search..... 273/77 R, 78, 164, 167-175 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l,l88,479 6/1916 Park 2.73/175 1.289.553 12/1918 Sanders ..273/l73 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 19,988 9/1902 Great Britain 273/167 J OTHER PUBLICATIONS The Search for the Perfect Swing, by Cochran and Stobbs; 1968; pages 150-156.

Primary E.raminer--Richard J. Apley Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Sughrue, Rothwell, Mion, Zinn & Macpeak [57] ABSTRACT The face of a golf club is provided with a plurality of parallel steps rising from the lower'edge of the club face to the upper edge of the club face to provide a pluralityof edges designed to impart back spin to a golf ball, Each of the parallel steps are parallel to an imaginary plane which is an extension of the lowermost step on the club face and which determines the pitch of the club.

1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures t GOLF CLUB FACE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is directed to the golf club art and more particularly to the construction of the face of the golf club.

2. Prior Art It is old and well known in the prior art to provide the face of a golf club with a plurality of grooves which upon impact with a golf ball will aid in imparting control to the golf ball. However, unless the impact is fairly substantial the edges of the grooves do not provide any gripping action on the golf ball.

It is also old and well known in the golf club art to provide a plurality of raised projections or ridges on the face of a golf club for the purpose of imparting back spin to a golf ball upon impact. It has also been proposed to provide the face of the club with a plurality of steps which decrease in height from the lower edge of the golf club face to the upper edge of the golf club face. Although such an arrangement is purportedly provided for inducing back spin to the golf ball the edges of each step are oriented in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the face of the club upon contact with the ball thus preventing the edges of the steps from biting into the surface of the ball.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a golf club having a face provided with a plurality of sequential steps thereon which are disposed parallel to the top and bottom edges of the club and which rise from the lower edge of the club to the top edge of the club to impart backspin to a golf ball upon contact.

The present invention is directed to a golf club face having a plurality of sequential steps thereon which may be used in conjunction with either irons or woods in order to impart improved back spin to a golf ball upon impact.

The foregoing and other objects. features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an end elevation view of a wood-type golf club having a club face according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an end elevation view of an iron-type golf club having a club face according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The golf club of FIG. 1 is illustrated with a representative wood-type head 12 secured to the shank 14 in the conventional manner. The face of the head 12 is provided with a plurality of parallel steps 16 each of which is progressively higher than the previous step in the direction from the bottom edge 18 of the club head to the top edge 20 of the club head with respect to an imaginery plane 19 which is an extension of the lowermost llat surface 21 on the face of the club and which defines the pitch of the club. The riser 22 of each step is disposed at substantially right angles to the face surface ofeach step to provide a plurality of edges 23, one

or more of which will bite into the ball 25 upon impact to impart back spin to the ball. It is also contemplated that the risers could be somewhat undercut so as to present an acute angle with respect to the main face surface 16 of each step. The golf club 30 in FIG. 2 is a conventional iron-type club having a blade-type head 32 secured to shank 34 in the conventional manner. The face of the blade 32 is provided with a plurality of steps 36 which are parallel to each other each of which is progressively higher than the preceeding step in a direction from the bottom edge 38 of the head to the top edge 40 relative to an imaginery plane 39 which is an extension of the lowermost surface 41 on the face of the club and which defines the pitch of the club. The riser 42 for each step is disposed at substantially right angles to the main face surface of each step to provide a plurality of edges 43, one or more of which will bite into the ball 45 upon impact to impart back spin to the ball. It is also contemplated that the riser could be somewhat undercut so as to be disposed at an acute angle relative to the main face surfaces.

The stepped face according to the present invention is most effective with the clubs having the greatest degree of pitch to the club face such. as the sand wedge. 9 iron and 4 wood. However. the stepped face could be equally effective with numerous other clubs and the height of each step as determined by the risers could be varied depending upon the pitch. For a sand wedge the height of each step could be on the order of 0.0l0-0.050 inches. By using a plurality of steps the golfer is more certain of having at least one ofthe edges of one of the steps engage the golf ball to impart the desired back spin.

The height of each step as determined by the risers could progressively increase as the steps progress from the bottom edge of the club head to the top. Likewise, the width of each step surface between risers could also vary progressive with the width being narrowest adjacent the bottom edge of the club face. Also, the height and width of the steps could vary from club to club depending on the pitch of the club face. The length of each step is immaterial as long as the steps extend at least over the conventional impact area on the club face.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those in the 'art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A golf club comprising a shaft and a head having a ball impact face thereon secured to said shaft, said face having a flat surface along the lowermost edge of the club face lying in an imaginery plane which defines the pitch of the club, a plurality of stepped flat surfaces disposed parallel to said plane and spaced progressively further from said plane as said stepped flat surfaces progress from said lowermost edge of the club face to the uppermost edge of said club face, and a plurality of risers interconnecting said flat surfaces with each riser being disposed at a maximum angle of relative to the next highest flat surface to provide a plurality of edges adapted to bite into a golf ball upon impact to impart back spin to the ball. 

1. A golf club comprising a shaft and a head having a ball impact face thereon secured to said shaft, said face having a flat surface along the lowermost edge of the club face lying in an imaginery plane which defines the pitch of the club, a plurality of stepped flat surfaces disposed parallel to said plane and spaced progressively further from said plane as said stepped flat surfaces progress from said lowermost edge of the club face to the uppermost edge of said club face, and a plurality of risers interconnecting said flat surfaces with each riser being disposed at a maximum angle of 90* relative to the next highest flat surface to provide a plurality of edges adapted to bite into a golf ball upon impact to impart back spin to the ball. 